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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26136640">Mooncall</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jevil_Joss/pseuds/Jevil_Joss'>Jevil_Joss</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>It's werewolves so it gets pretty violent, RWBY au, Ruby is a Werewolf, Violence and Action, spoilers for volume 3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:13:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,679</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26136640</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jevil_Joss/pseuds/Jevil_Joss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Blake asked if Ruby was mad at her for lying about being a Faunus, Ruby told her that Ruby herself was a Faunus. <br/>The truth was actually worse.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic was kind of inspired by the fan theory that Ruby and Yang are Faunus--which I don't really believe, but it got my creative gears thinking. Go watch EruptionFang's videos on YouTube, he has great coverage on these RWBY fan theories and steadily remains impartial, displaying all the evidence while not letting his own belief(or lackthereof) taint his videos.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Quite a while ago, it seemed at this point, Blake had been revealed to her friends as a Faunus. Blake had shortly after asked Ruby, "Are you mad at me? For lying about being a Faunus?"</p><p>Ruby had laughed at that, then showed Blake her wolf tail. "Er, no. I'm a Faunus myself," she had told Blake. "Mom was a Faunus, so I end up being half-faunus. Considering it's an awful lot to explain to everyone who sees the two of us, and we're both sisters...it just seemed easier to pretend I was human."</p><p>It was easier to pretend you were a human. Except Ruby was not a Faunus, either. Like her mother, she was a werewolf. </p><p>She was now a werewolf pretending to be a Faunus that was pretending to be a human. Judging from what she had heard, it was a fairly standard high-school experience. </p><p>It was a fairly typical day, in any case. Lunchtime in the cafeteria, with her team. Yang was smiling frustratingly at Blake, for some mild thing that no one else could even begin to figure out. Weiss was berating Ruby for an excess of sugary unhealthy foods. </p><p>
  <em>Like, seriously. There's something healthy on this plate. Right?</em>
</p><p>"Yo!" Nora Valkyrie sat beside her, Ren next to Nora, and then they're teammates, Jaune and Pyrrha, across the table from them. "So, it's the twenty sixth, right? Does that mean you're about to start going on your walks?"</p><p>Ruby frowned, thinking that one through. <em>Twenty ninth is full moon, </em>she realized. She often turned outside of the full moon, before and after, in varying degrees of wolf. While she usually only lost control on the night of the full moon, it was still good to be out of range of friends...just in case. </p><p>"Yeah. What's up on your end?"</p><p>"Nothing much...<em>werewolf."</em></p><p>"Not this again," Ren muttered, rubbing his head. "Look, Nora, I feel like something like that wouldn't have been hidden this long."</p><p>"Seriously, she just likes going on walks," Pyrrha said. </p><p>"If she were a werewolf, I'd know," Yang said. </p><p>Yang knew. Technically, the statement wasn't a lie. She did know. She just wasn't telling anyone else. </p><p>The first time Nora had randomly called her a werewolf, Ruby had almost choked to death on a piece of broccoli. The worst part was that no one took Nora seriously, including herself. Ruby could never tell if Nora had figured it out or not, but she strongly felt that asking her would be a poor decision. </p><p>"Actually, I wasn't going to be here at all," Ruby informed them. "I heard Uncle Qrow's sick. I was heading to Patch tomorrow."</p><p>"Really?" Nora asked, surprised. "Yang, you going to?"</p><p>"Nah, I'm staying here," Yang said. </p><p>"I just heard about it," Ruby said with a nod. "Talked with Professor Ozpin and everything."</p><p> </p><p>"So," Ozpin said, sipping his cocoa. "When your mother was your age, she went through a...particularly violent change."</p><p>"What's that mean?" Ruby asked, sipping her cup of coffee. </p><p>"For three full days, she lost control and turned almost completely feral. Afterwards, though, she was able to control herself almost every full moon. Completely and utterly, and could even make herself change outside of that. I feel like you are going to go through something similar over this next full moon." </p><p>"Um...don't you think you could have mentioned this earlier?" Ruby asked. "Y'know. Last full moon or something like that? It's not exactly something you just toss out last minute, Professor."</p><p>"I didn't want to cause stress unnecessarily," he said apologetically. "I know this is pretty hard for you to deal with, and I'm trying my best. Summer didn't exactly write down how she dealt with everything."</p><p>"So I've noticed," Ruby said with a sigh. </p><p>"What I'm saying is, tell your friends that you're heading home to Patch. Say that Qrow is sick," Ozpin suggested. "You can head to your normal safe house for the worst of it."</p><p>"You're not going to be able to leave Beacon for three days straight," Ruby pointed out. Ozpin and Glynda had to take turns monitoring her when she lost control, just so nothing bad happened. Making sure she didn't get out. </p><p>"No. Glynda and I can trade off while you're out of control. During the day, you can probably just stay in the office with me--while you're in normal dog form."</p><p>"Professor, no one is going to think I'm a dog. I've seen the pictures, no one could look at that and think anything but pure-bred wolf," Ruby said flatly. </p><p>"I happen to like wolves," Ozpin said with a smile. "Just remember. However bad this gets, you had a warning. Summer's was out of the blue. We weren't sure what was going to happen." He pulled up a sleeve, pointing to a slash scar on his elbow. "That's how I got this scar."</p><p>"You have a tattoo?"</p><p>"That's unimportant," Ozpin said sternly, pulling his sleeve back down. </p><p> </p><p>"Why aren't you going back?" Blake asked Yang curiously. "And why is Ruby going in the first place? Isn't he just sick?"</p><p>"Uncle Qrow's...he's always been really close with Ruby, and it's a pretty nasty case of flu," Yang said. "Ruby was really concerned. Breaking out the teary, puppy dog eyes."</p><p>"<em>Yang!</em>"</p><p>Yang laughed as Ruby chucked a tomato at her sister's head. She was sure everything would be okay, as she told her teammates. </p><p>She would miss them while being unable to talk to them, however. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have a Discord server! If you want to chat with me on it, go ahead and join! Invite link below, but I'm new to Discord so leave a comment if I'm missing something or you have trouble joining and I'll get right back to you!</p><p> </p><p>vv2CwNx</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yang grinned at Blake. "Come on. You want to come, you know it."</p><p>"Yang, there's a storm brewing," Blake pointed out. "A motorbike ride is not going to be pleasant."</p><p>"It's not a long trip, I'd be walking if it <em>weren't </em>for the storm clouds," Yang stated. "Come on, I want to show you this."</p><p>Sighing, Blake relented, hopping onto the back of Bumblebee and wrapping her arms around Yang. Yang revved up the motorbike, then quickly sped out the door. </p><p>Despite what most people first assumed, Yang was not a rule breaker. She rarely went over the speed limit, avoided all kinds of alcohol, and tried her best to follow the rules--at least, the ones she agreed with. She was a little more lax with the ones she didn't agree with. </p><p>Today was no exception, and she followed the speed limit(albeit grudgingly). "Come on," she muttered, turning a corner and heading over to the park. She ground the motorbike to a stop, hopping off and parking it. Blake stepped off, following Yang over to the tree that sat by the edge of the park. "What is it you wanted me to see?" Yang flopped down, pointing at the base of the tree. Blake frowned, sitting next to her and looking. Yang reached over and tapped a bunch of small, white flowers. </p><p>"Are those--"</p><p>"Silver moonshade," Yang grinned. "They're supposed to be native to Menagerie, but I guess someone thought it would be nice to plant them here. And I thought you'd like seeing the little touch of home here."</p><p>"Aw, Yang." Blake smiled at her friend. "That's so thoughtful. I mean, these flowers are actually poisonous, but yes, they're pretty."</p><p>"Only poisonous to dogs," Yang pointed out. </p><p>"Like chocolate," Blake agreed. </p><p>"That one's an urban rumor," Yang said, waving her off as she leaned back. Unfortunately for her, she happened to forget that the park sloped downwards right by this tree. She fell backwards, landing with a splash in a mud puddle. </p><p>"Yang! You okay?" Blake said, covering her mouth. </p><p>"'M a'right," Yang muttered, clearly more embarrassed than hurt. She grabbed her scarf, frowning at the mud splatter at it. "Dammit." When a raindrop hit her head, she blinked, looking up. "Well, at least it'll clean off the mud," she said as the rain began falling. </p><p>"Let's head back," Blake said, smiling. "Storm or no, that scarf's gonna have to be washed."</p><p> </p><p>One of the benefits of Beacon was the laundry room located on campus, readily accessible by students. Yang quickly headed over, pulling off the scarf. "It'll only need a quick rinse," she said hesitantly. </p><p>"The jacket too," Blake pointed out. </p><p>With a sigh, Yang pulled off the jacket and dumped it in the washer with her scarf. </p><p>Blake's jaw dropped. Yang's shoulder and most of her right side were covered in tooth scars. "Oh boy," Yang muttered, rubbing her forehead as she started the washer running. </p><p>"Yang--what happened?" Blake burst out. </p><p>"It's...it's nothing."</p><p>"Boldest lie you've ever told."</p><p>Yang looked like she wanted to argue with that statement, but she wisely decided not too. "It was a Beowulf. Got the drop on me."</p><p>"That was a regular wolf," Blake pointed out. "Those aren't Beowulf scars. Beowulves have shorter teeth than whatever did that."</p><p>"It's nothing," she repeated firmly, pulling on a spare jacket. She flipped the collar up, covering the worst scar seated on her throat. "Please let it drop," she begged. </p><p>Blake sighed. "That excuse isn't flying by me, but fine. I will drop it."</p><p>"You head on back. I'll return once my stuff is clean," Yang said, leaning on top of the washer. </p><p>"Alright," Blake said hesitantly. </p><p> </p><p>"Professor Ozpin?" Weiss said, stepping out of the elevator into the headmaster's office. She immediately froze, seeing a massive crimson wolf sitting in the corner. Two white eyes stared up at her, and the wolf cocked its head at her. </p><p>"I'm watching my friend's dog," Ozpin explained. </p><p>"Aw," Weiss said, stepping over. "She's cute!"</p><p>The wolf made a grumbling noise at that. Ozpin chuckled. "What was it you needed?" he asked, sipping his cocoa. </p><p>"I was wanting to ask if Ruby had already left for Patch," Weiss answered, scratching behind the wolf's ears. The wolf stared at her flatly. </p><p>"She has," Ozpin told her. "She wanted to get a move on."</p><p>"Her uncle must be really sick, huh?" Weiss said, frowning. The wolf butted its head against her hand. </p><p>"Not bad, and certainly not mortally. But you know how Ruby gets about her friends and family, don't you?"</p><p>"No one I'd rather have at my back," Weiss testified. "Just don't tell her I said that."</p><p>Ozpin laughed--that kind of laugh that implied there was a joke just a little outside what you'd get, and there was something funny that you weren't privy too. "Oh, I won't," Ozpin said. The wolf's tongue was sticking out, and she was panting excitedly. </p><p>"What's her name?" Weiss asked, patting the wolf's head. </p><p>"Scarlet," Ozpin said. </p><p>"She's beautiful," Weiss breathed. </p><p>"You...like dogs?" Ozpin asked. </p><p>"Professor, you can't say this is anything but a pure-bred wolf," Weiss said. "<em>Canis rufus,</em> but I've never heard of any that are this bright of a red. Did you dye its fur or something?"</p><p>"Tai might have done so at some point," Ozpin said with a shrug. </p><p>"Tai? Have I heard that name before?" Weiss asked. </p><p>"Not sure. But you ought to head back now." The wolf woofed once, looking at Weiss. Ozpin looked like he was about to say something before his phone rang. He pulled it out and answered it. "Ozpin here. Hmm? So soon? Today! We can't--dammit! I'm watching Scarlet--no, of course I'm not talking about the student from Vacuo."</p><p>"What's wrong?" Weiss asked. "Something come up?"</p><p>Ozpin looked up like he had a genius idea. "I'll call you back," he said to the phone, hanging up. "Weiss, can I trust you and the rest of your team to watch Scarlet for the rest of the day?"</p><p>"What?" Weiss burst out. "Why? What's going on?"</p><p>"It looks like we caught a lead on the real people behind Torchwick's crimes. We need to move out pretty much immediately, but I can't leave Scarlet by herself. She has a...a bit of a history for causing problems. Can you watch her?"</p><p>"Um--sure! I mean, I don't think Blake will like it--at all, but she'll understand."</p><p>Ozpin nodded. "Go tell Port. He'll give you all the help you'll need. Glynda or I will be back at six. If we aren't..." He hesitated. "Be careful. Later at night, she has a tendency to bite."</p><p>Weiss sensed something beyond what his words meant--like everything about Ozpin, something just a little outside of her understanding. She nodded, scratching Scarlet behind the ears. The wolf looked up at her, her white eyes deep. She opened her mouth, panting happily. </p><p>Weiss smiled. "I think we'll be fine."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Reflection: Ruby Rose</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"From what I've seen tonight, you're more than skilled enough to pass the entrance exam," Ozpin said, sipping his cocoa. "You could easily enroll early."</p><p>"Yeah, but I was kind of wanting to do things normally. By the book." Ruby shrugged. "I was just hoping to go at a normal time, y'know?"</p><p>Ozpin stared flatly at her. "Miss Rose, I feel the need to remind you that you are a werewolf. You don't get to have things be normal. I feel like joining the academy early could be helpful--especially as your sister is also there at the moment. I believe that this will make it easiest to deal with, and when things are easier, things are less likely to be messed up. And a mess up in this case..."</p><p>"Could very easily result in the death of one or more individuals," Glynda interrupted. "Oz and I--as well as two of the teachers--all know about your wolf, as does Yang herself. The five of us can easily help you get to the point where you can control your wolf."</p><p>Ruby hesitated. "I--no offense, but the only people who've managed to keep my wolf under control on full moons are Dad and Yang. And last time you tried, Miss Goodwitch, it didn't exactly go well."</p><p>"That was an unfortunate accident," Ozpin said. "But, Miss Rose, do remember that Yang being one of the only two to consistently manage it is perhaps another reason to enroll early?"</p><p>Ruby frowned. "I don't follow."</p><p>"The right answer is often hidden underneath the wrong one. Yang being here will actually make full moon nights <em>easier </em>than if Yang already graduated."</p><p>"I...oh." Ruby frowned. "I guess you're right."</p><p>"I'm not forcing you into anything, Ruby. The choice is and always should be yours. However, I do urge you to consider all the evidence, and I will never hesitate to tell you what <em>I </em>think is the right answer." He smiled at her. "What is your choice, then?"</p><p>Ruby picked up a cookie, chomping it down thoughtfully. Then she nodded. "Yeah. I see what you're saying."</p><p>Ozpin nodded. "We'll do what we can to make this easier for you."</p><p>"That's appreciated."</p><p>"See you at school, Miss Rose."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Blake glared across the room at the wolf. The wolf panted happily at her. Blake glared harder at it. </p><p>Scarlet didn't seem to care. </p><p>"You can't hate dogs that much," Weiss said. </p><p>"First, that's a wolf," Blake said. "Second, I do."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>Blake didn't answer. </p><p>"Blake, why do you hate dogs?" Weiss said. </p><p>"...they chase me."</p><p>Weiss stared for a solid minute. "Are you serious?"</p><p>"See, this is why I didn't want to say it."</p><p>"You kill Beowulves on a regular basis!"</p><p>"Those aren't dogs," Blake replied, giving Weiss a look. "Those are Grimm. Just look at that thing. That wolf thinks it knows more than me." Weiss stared at Scarlet. Scarlet licked her lips, looking up at Weiss. The two of them gave Blake a look. </p><p>"You're being paranoid," Weiss told her. Scarlet barked in agreement. </p><p>Blake glared at the wolf. Whatever Weiss said, Blake knew there was something more to this wolf. She'd never seen a wild animal that was clearly this smart. And also...she would never say this aloud...it didn't <em>feel </em>like a wolf. She had seen dogs. This creature didn't act like a dog. It had knowledge in those pale eyes, and that couldn't have been a natural shade of red. </p><p>The door opened. "Hey, what's up g--" Yang froze abruptly, staring at Scarlet. "Um."</p><p>"Arf."</p><p>"We're watching Professor Ozpin's friend's dog for him," Weiss explained. </p><p>"I was kinda wondering what Scarlet was doing here," Yang muttered, sitting beside Blake. Seeing Blake's and Weiss's faces, she said, "That's Dad's dog. I guess you could say he has a thing for them." She chuckled at that, like it was some kind of joke. Scarlet herself whined about it, apparently having gotten the joke. </p><p>"What?" Weiss said, frowning. </p><p>"Eh, nothing. Forget I said that." Yang waved them off, but Blake noticed how weary she was about Scarlet. </p><p>Evidently, Weiss noticed too. "Ozpin did say she had a tendency to bite," she guessed. The wolf looked up at Weiss curiously as Weiss scratched her head. </p><p>A spike of alarm went through Blake. She looked over at Yang. "Is that where you got the--"</p><p>"You left your purse on the bike!" Yang burst out, grabbing Blake and lifting her up. </p><p>"What?" Blake said. <em>I didn't bring my purse with me--I don't even have a purse!</em></p><p>Yang lead her out of the room, then rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Please. I said <em>drop it.</em>"</p><p>"Blake, I'm worried about it. Apparently, you are, too. I saw how you looked at her."</p><p>"It wasn't her that did it," Yang replied snappily. </p><p>"One of his other dogs?"</p><p>"Dammit! Stop asking about it!" Yang snapped at her, eyes flashing red. "I already told you. I don't want to talk about it."</p><p>"Aren't you the one who told me to talk to my friends if I had a problem?" Blake snapped back, refusing to back down. "Are you not going to follow your own advice?"</p><p>"There is no problem!" Yang shouted. </p><p>A door creaked. Jaune winced. "Sorry, um, the door just squeaked a bit, I didn't mean to interrupt--"</p><p>"You're not interrupting anything. There is no conversation," Yang growled. She angrily stormed off, past Jaune's dorm, and Blake heard a door slam farther away. </p><p>"Fine! Be that way!" she shouted after Yang. There was a long silence as several doors closed, the other students at Beacon slowly moving away and pretending they didn't see the fight. Blake blushed lightly, trying to pretend that the conversation hadn't just been shouted out in front of the entire school. </p><p>"For the love of the Gods," muttered Nora, stomping out of JNPR's dorm and dragging Blake back into her own dorm. "Come on, Jaune. We need to talk." Jaune hesitantly followed, with Pyrrha and Ren right behind. </p><p>Nora marched Blake over and plopped her beside Weiss. She hesitated, skirting around Scarlet. "Why the fuck do you have a red wolf in your dorm?" she burst out with. "Nevermind. Not important." She sat down on Yang's bed, Ren beside her. "From what I heard, Yang had something private that she didn't want to talk about, and you wanted to make her talk about it."</p><p>"Her entire right side is covered in scars," Blake said. "It looked like she got mauled."</p><p>"<em>Entire </em>right side?" Jaune asked hesitantly. </p><p>"She fell in a mud puddle and needed to wash her jacket," Blake explained quickly. "But she's the one who told me to open up my problems with everyone. And now I see her in need of--"</p><p>"Scars mean it's already happened!" Nora snapped. She sighed, rubbing her head. "You were in the White Fang, right? So presumably you had friends there. Friends you left and haven't seen. Do any of us go around trying to force you to talk about how you feel about it? No. That would be rude. Everyone has things they'd rather talk about--things in our past that our over. Things that left their scars." She clenched her hands into a fist, closing her eyes. Ren put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. </p><p>"You've never asked me about my scar once," Weiss agreed, scratching Scarlet behind the head. Scarlet barked in agreement. "And for the record, I'm glad about that. It has nothing to do with our current problems, and it's...rather personal. If Yang has scars like that--well, I can't imagine something actually dropping her and being able to maul her like that."</p><p>"Must have been something big," Pyrrha agreed. </p><p>"I wasn't concerned about it until she lied to my face," Blake said. "I don't like being lied to."</p><p>"Bold words for an ex-terrorist," Nora pointed out. She reclined backwards, folding her hands behind her head. </p><p>Scarlet stretched to the sound of joints popping and cracking. The wolf whined. Weiss checked her scroll. "It's five. Professor Ozpin or Glynda should be here soon. Right?"</p><p>Nora moved forward, sitting on the ground in front of the wolf. Scarlet growled at her. </p><p>"Whoa," Weiss said as Nora backed away. </p><p>Nora scoffed. "I don't have the best track record with dogs. They don't really like me. This one seems different, so I thought--ah, well, who cares?"</p><p>Scarlet sat down, head in her paws. Her fur seemed--thicker, her shoulders, broader. <em>Is she bigger, or am I just closer to her?</em> Blake wondered. </p><p>"We'll head on back to our room now," Jaune said. "And, uh, just let it go. We all have our buried secrets. Some things don't need to be unearthed." He left, followed by a hesitant Pyrrha. Ren got up and paused at the door, waiting on Nora. </p><p>Nora watched Scarlet wearily. "Ruby's...Ruby's gone to Patch, eh?" she asked. </p><p>"Yeah, earlier today. Just before I agreed to take care of Scarlet."</p><p>"Hmm. Good night." Nora got up and stretched on her way out the door. Ren followed, and the door was shut. </p><p>"They'll be here any minute now, then you won't have to deal with Scarlet anymore," Weiss said, punching Blake's shoulder. "I know you didn't like this, and I'm sorry, but Professor Ozpin seemed awful worried about Scarlet. She's a good dog, though. Yes, she is."</p><p>"Does she seem...larger than she did earlier to you?" Blake asked hesitantly. </p><p>"Blake, how would she get bigger?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow. She reached down and scratched behind Scarlet's ears. The wolf whimpered, hunkering closer to the ground. </p><p>"Just paranoia," Blake muttered. "Paranoia my ass. Something is up with this dog."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yang sat down in a chair in front of Port, sighing. "Sorry for bothering you so late. I just...I needed to talk."</p><p>"Of course! My door is always open, Miss Xiao Long!" Port laughed. "Besides, I have paperwork to keep me awake! Much, much paperwork." He paused, then shoved the stack of papers aside. "Now, what was it you wanted to talk about?"</p><p>"You've been a Huntsman a while, right? Have you...how many times have you lost? While fighting Grimm?"</p><p>"Plenty of times," Port said, all amusement gone from his voice. "But pray tell. You've done more at your age than I had managed--stopping a terrorist is no easy feat! So tell me. How exactly did you lose?"</p><p>Yang pulled down her scarf, showing her scars. "I know Ruby didn't mean to. I know she couldn't control herself. But...the scars remain. She attacked me--this--this doesn't effect me during the days. I can see my loved sister there. It's..."</p><p>"I've lost a lot, but never the way you have," Port said. "I don't know how to help you, I'm afraid. But please, bear with me here. That night was the one where Glynda was watching her, right? And Ruby got out?"</p><p>Yang nodded, fixing her scarf. "I went out to try and get her back up."</p><p>"And that was the last time you tried keeping her under control?" Port guessed. </p><p>Yang nodded. "I--she needs my help. How do I give it to her when I'm needing to seek out help from other people?" Her voice cracked, and she struggled to control herself. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Ruby--please. You know me."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"ROAR!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Perhaps call your uncle sometime," Port suggested. "Him or Ozpin. Both have been through hell and managed to cope well enough. Perhaps that could be your answer."</p><p>A polite knock came at the door. Blake opened the door, then froze seeing Yang. Yang quickly rubbed her face, hoping she wasn't covered in tears. </p><p>"Excuse me, um." Blake hesitated. "Has Professor Ozpin come back yet?"</p><p>"I thought he had," Port said. "Why?"</p><p>"Because he's late, and Scarlet's starting to get--" She hesitated. "Testy."</p><p>"Wait, she's still here?" Yang burst out. </p><p>"Oh, Oz, of all the times you could possibly be late," muttered Port, jumping to his feet. "Has Scarlet done anything?"</p><p>"She's been growling, and I don't care what anyone says, she is definitely bigger than she was earlier today."</p><p>"Oh, no," Yang muttered, jumping to her feet. </p><p>"Quick! We've got to get her to the safe house!" Port burst out. </p><p>Blake stared for a long minute. "Do what you need to, but Yang..." She sighed, then kissed the blonde lightly on the cheek. "Be careful, and don't hesitate to get me if there is anything I can do to help."</p><p>Yang nodded. "I'd never have it any other way, Bee." She rushed past Blake, moving up to their dorm. </p><p>No amount of PTSD would remove the majestic glory of Ruby's wolf, even though at this point, the wolf was almost six feet from head to tail and was breathing slow and heavy. </p><p>"Hey, girl," Yang said, rubbing the wolf's head. </p><p>"Ruff."</p><p>"I'll explain later, but for now, help me get her in a car," Yang said, leading Ruby out the door. The wolf grumbled, and even now her walking was not a normal wolf walk. Her paws were massive, the toes more spread out, the claws large and razor sharp. Weiss got too close, and the wolf bared her fangs. Gleaming, white, jagged daggers. </p><p>"Easy," Yang cautioned. She lead Ruby out down the stairs, and to Port's car. Port already had the door opened. "Come on!" he said, beckoning. Yang helped Ruby into the car, and Ruby was luckily still in control enough to be obliging. She moved into the car, taking up half the back end. She stretched to the sound of cracks and pops. </p><p>"She's even bigger now," Weiss murmured. "Exactly what kind of wolf is that?"</p><p>Yang sighed. "Not my secret to tell, sorry," she said apologetically. "I'll be back. And when Ozpin gets back...make sure to leave him a message."</p><p>"What message?" Blake asked. </p><p>Yang held up her middle finger. "Tell him I said 'fuck you'," Yang said firmly. She hopped into the car, trying to de-stress Ruby. "I'll see ya tomorrow. Someday, I'll explain this all away. Just give me some time."</p><p>Blake nodded. Yang closed the door, and Port started driving. </p><p>Ruby whined, and Yang wrapped her arms around the wolf. Ruby flopped over into Yang's lap, breathing heavy. </p><p>"It's alright," Yang said. "I'm here now. Everything is fine."</p><p>Ruby was never as comforted by that as she used to be. But that's what Yang repeated, again and again. She helped how she could--Ruby was her sister, after all. </p><p> </p><p>Blake knocked on the door to JNPR's dorm. Jaune opened it, yawning in his pajamas. "Um, hi. What's up?"</p><p>"I wanted to say thank you to Nora," Blake said. "That conversation helped."</p><p>"Glad to hear it, but Nora and Ren went out together some time ago."</p><p>"What?" Blake blinked in surprise. "This late at night?"</p><p>"They do this a couple times a month, usually at the end," Jaune said with a shrug. "And then declare that they are not, in fact, dating. Pyrrha and I got used to it quickly."</p><p>"Huh." Blake scratched her head. "Well, send her my thanks." She left him, waving him goodnight before bumping into Ozpin. Her headmaster was panting, hunched over, clearly having just run all the way there with Glynda. </p><p>"Where's Scarlet?" he gasped. </p><p>"Professor Port got her in a car with Yang," Blake said. "And just for the record, next time maybe <em>say </em>that it's not a normal dog before you tell someone to watch it?"</p><p>Ozpin sighed. "How much did they say?"</p><p>"Nothing, but they did leave a message for you." Blake hesitated, then said, "Yang wanted me to tell you she was angry at you."</p><p>Ozpin hung his head. "Yeah. Fair enough."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Reflection: Kuroyuri</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nora started her day like she always did. Quick shower, washing the scents of night off, followed by clean clothes and combing her hair. The rest of her team slumbered still, so she took her time. </p><p>She always took her time with her hair, which Jaune and Pyrrha got no end of amusement out of. Neither of them apparently thought she was the type of person to care about appearances--and they were right. She didn't care if she looked pretty or not. </p><p>She did care if the pair of wolf ears were visible. With practice, she was able to fold them back and comb her hair so that it perfectly obscured the ears. If people ever saw them, she could just say she was a Faunus--but anyone who'd done their research would quickly be able to tell she wasn't one. While she could see somewhat in the dark, it wasn't normal Faunus-level night vision. Moreover, Faunus only had one animal trait, and she had a large wolf tail as well. No, saying she was a Faunus was not the answer. </p><p><em>Also, my friends will start asking awkward questions after three humans suddenly say they were actually Faunus pretending to be human.</em> But she did have her doubts about Ruby's Faunus heritage, especially given "Scarlet's" appearance yesterday. She cracked her neck, feeling her muscles and joints settle into place. Being a werewolf had its perks, of course. Her strength and resilience were off the charts, and she recovered pretty quickly even from nasty injuries. She didn't need to go to the gym, but she liked having an excuse for when people asked why she was so strong. </p><p>But lupinism--or whatever the hell it was supposed to be called--did have its downsides. The change hurt, of course, but moreover, her body had to spend a good long time settling itself back into place. Her flesh felt almost liquid as everything settled. Aches and pains arched across her body. Her teeth had shrunk away, fangs gone. </p><p>She was a werewolf pretending to be a human, and if she was ever caught, she'd have to pretend to be a faunus pretending to be a human. From what Ren had said, it was fairly normal levels of stress for high school. </p><p>She exited the bathroom, sitting down on her bed. <em>Take it easy,</em> she told herself, monitoring her breath. At the very least, she could control herself in wolf form. Most of the time. </p><p>"You look tired," Pyrrha said with a sly smile. "Go to bed late?"</p><p><em>If you only knew,</em> Nora thought, smiling. The funny thing was, she knew the real joke, and she had no idea what Pyrrha was smiling about. "Had a fun evening. Night on the town and all."</p><p>Pyrrha chuckled at that. Nora could never figure out if she knew she was a werewolf, or if she was just drastically mistaken with some wild assumption. She felt she had to ask sometime--and maybe reveal herself to Pyrrha and Jaune eventually. </p><p>Eventually. </p><p>She stretched, trying not to wince at the popping sounds made by her body. She pulled out her scroll, typing. "You ever been to Patch?" she asked casually. </p><p>"No." </p><p>"I'm asking Ruby to tell me about the weather there," Nora said. "Patch seems like a good place to retire too." It also had plenty of wildlife, so no one would ask twice about a strange wolf they saw in the night. </p><p>On the other hand, Nora wanted to see if Ruby answered her text. <em>If she is a wolf, then she might...I don't know what prompted my three-day change, but I've been able to control myself since then. She might be going through something similar. </em>She put away her scroll, deep in thought. </p><p>"You seem distracted," Pyrrha said. </p><p>"Always," Nora replied, barely paying attention to her. No reply from Ruby yet, of course. She sent a text to Weiss. </p><p>Val-Bitch</p><p>yo</p><p>u heard from rubes yet</p><p>"Are you even listening to me?" Pyrrha asked. </p><p>Nora snapped her attention the redhead. "Depends on how much you were talking to me."</p><p>Her scroll chimed, and she quickly read Weiss's text. </p><p>IceQueen</p><p>Nora</p><p>It's seven in the morning</p><p>And I haven't talked with her since before she left</p><p>Pyrrha sighed. "Nora. You have got to take things seriously."</p><p>"I am," Nora muttered. "I'm trying to have two conversations at once. You do that without missing anything." Her scroll chimed again. </p><p>IceQueen</p><p>Is something wrong? Can you not get in touch with her?</p><p>"You worried about Ruby?" Pyrrha asked. Nora blinked, confused as to how Pyrrha got right next to her. <em>Not about her, per se. </em></p><p>"She can take care of herself," Nora said simply, putting away her scroll. She stood up, stretching. "About time for breakfast. Let's go."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lunch was not particularly interesting to Nora--food was food, and it was just as mundane as it always was--maybe more so, because the steaks were overcooked. Not at all like she liked them. </p><p>Ren had often joked about her liking steaks rare because she was a werewolf. This was obviously untrue, for reasons that Nora had yet to think of. </p><p>JNPR sat across from RWBY--or rather, Weiss and Blake. "Where's Yang?" Nora asked, confused. </p><p>"Taking a sick day," Blake replied casually, stirring her food. "She wasn't feeling too well, and seeing as how we did stop a terrorist, Professor Port just gave her a sick day."</p><p>The lie didn't fly by Nora for an instant. She could always tell when people were lying--subtle changes she noticed that Ren professed to be unable to see--but as she'd pretty much just given Blake a whole lecture about minding her own business, she let it slide. However, she did give Blake a sly smile and a wink in order to communicate how little she bought it. </p><p>"I did ask Yang about Ruby, though," Weiss told Nora. "Yang actually found Ruby's scroll under her pillow, and she called her father, just to be sure. Ruby's fine."</p><p>"I wasn't worried," Nora said with a scoff. What was there to be worried about? Ruby could take care of herself, and Nora's suspicion of her being a werewolf only strengthened her confidence in Ruby's grit.</p><p>'Curious' seemed like a better word to describe her feelings. "Give Yang my well wishes," she told Weiss. Under the table, she quickly ran through her homework she'd been unable to do the night before--the first time she'd come to Port with undone work, he'd gotten mad. Until she managed to solve each and every problem in under thirty seconds each right in front of him. Since she couldn't really do her school at night--especially after her excuse had been that she had too much trouble staying awake at night--she did her school over breakfast. As of yet, no one outside her team had noticed, much to her surprise. She flexed her left hand, feeling the joints pop. She frowned, flexing and cracking her fingers. </p><p>"Something wrong?" Weiss asked. </p><p>"Nah," Nora said, twirling her fork over her empty bowl. She was sore. She wasn't normally <em>this </em>sore after a full moon. She felt in her gut that she was going to change tonight, but that shouldn't have changed anything. <em>Maybe it's just a growth spurt? </em>If she could be a little taller, that would actually be helpful. </p><p>At the same time, that meant her wolf was still growing, too. Which was rad as hell--but the giant, violet wolf was going to be harder and harder to hide if she kept getting bigger. </p><p> </p><p>Yang opened her eyes. Being awake for twenty hours straight had been a horrible idea, but the only one she'd had. She sat up, checking the time. <em>Breakfast time. </em>She was going to feel like shit for a few days, that was for certain. She touched her cheek, feeling the cut she'd gotten. </p><p>As close to Ruby as she had stayed, only a small scratch was nothing. Especially after what had happened last time she'd watched over Ruby. She went to the bathroom, throwing off her shirt and examining the scarring over her side. <em>I can still help, </em>she thought. <em>I just need to be careful. </em>After the next few days, Ruby was supposed to remain in control of herself during the full moon. Which would probably make things easier. </p><p>Yang changed into pajamas, then plopped herself down in bed. Knowing she wouldn't be able to go to sleep, she pulled out her scroll, looking at her unread messages. One from Tai, asking how it had went with Ruby. Yang considered the question, then answered with, "As well as it could go, all things considered. No one's hurt, and the pup's in the crate." </p><p>Next one was from Ozpin, professing his apology for having messed up. Yang had forgotten about it. Everything turned out okay, and since she knew Ozpin was normally really good at handling Ruby, she just shrugged and decided to forget about it again, telling him it was okay. </p><p>She frowned when she got to the last one--from Emerald Sustrai. Yang frowned. She didn't really know the green-haired girl, but she could safely say they were friends. </p><p>The message read, "I haven't seen Ruby lately. Is everything okay?"</p><p>Yang nodded. "Yeah, she's okay. Visiting her family in Patch," she sent back. The lie wasn't far-fetched, and Patch was out of the way enough so that no other students were likely to visit there, and certainly none who knew Ruby was there. </p><p>Much to Yang's surprise, the scroll chimed, and she looked at Emerald's new message. "Ah. I was worried about her."</p><p>"Aren't you in class right now?" Yang messaged. </p><p>"Yeah. So?" Emerald's profile icon happened to be a picture of herself with a raised eyebrow, and Yang would have bet money on her face looking like that in the classroom at that moment. </p><p>"Nothing, I guess," Yang sent back. "You need anything else?"</p><p>"I'm good," Emerald stated. </p><p>Yang put away her scroll, nodding. <em>Nice to know people care,</em> she thought. Emerald didn't even know Ruby that well, and she'd noted the silver-eyed wolf's absence. Yang closed her eyes, letting herself fall asleep again. </p><p>
  <em>Three days of this, then Ruby's back for good. Nothing could be better.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ozpin hid many things, Cinder had said. Emerald knew a few of them. What she and Mercury were doing tonight was finding out another. </p><p>A high grade military bunker. No staff, and according to every map ever made, there was no building on this patch of privately owned land from Ozpin. It was surrounded by an electric fence--child's play to get past--and had no guards.</p><p><em>It's like he's trying to get robbed,</em> Emerald thought, amused. She beckoned Mercury forward, sneaking all the way up to the front door. No cameras sat--well, anywhere. Clearly, people getting in wasn't what Ozpin was worried about. </p><p>Cinder thought that Ozpin was hiding a weapon inside. Emerald had her doubts, and had voiced them. Cinder had ignored her. She slowly opened the door, letting it swing open on its own. She reached out with her Semblance, not finding anything immediately nearby to use it on. Frowning, she peered into the darkness. The walls were lined with metal, and two chairs sat around a small white table. A fridge sat in the corner, with a stove beside it. A thick, steel door sat at the far end of the room, but Emerald's immediate attention was with the massive box on her right. Mercury reached it first, and opened it. No lock? Emerald frowned, and it only deepened when she peaked inside. </p><p><em>Steaks? </em>she thought, flabbergasted. <em>Who needs this many pork roasts? </em>None of it was in any sort of wrapping, and the storage chest was only half full. Mercury closed it, then picked up a patch of red hair off the lid. Dog hair, by the looks of it, though thicker than most dogs Emerald had seen. The two of them slipped to the vaulted door, and Emerald pulled the handle. Not locked. </p><p>Her curiosity was peaked. Something was inside this building, and Ozpin didn't want it out. This would certainly make Cinder's plans better. </p><p>The door opened into a hallway. At one end was a small office, and directly across from it was another vaulted door. Emerald sensed an Aura in each of these rooms, and quickly masked her presence with her Semblance. Anyone looking down the hallway would see no one. She crept to the end, looking in on the office. </p><p>Glynda Goodwitch sat, sipping coffee in front of a monitor. Emerald couldn't see what was on the screen, and the office was too cramped for her to step inside. Invisible or no, she'd be seen. </p><p>But she needed to get a look at the skeleton in Ozpin's closet. For Cinder. She stepped over to the vaulted door, and peaked through the door knob--<em>this thing clearly can't open doors, so they decided to make things easy for the employees here, </em>she thought idly. </p><p>A silver eye stared back out at her. She froze, knowing her Semblance was keeping the creature from seeing her. The eye spun around, looking back and forth, and a low growl rose from the other side of the door. </p><p><em>It knows we're here,</em> Emerald thought with a chill. She tapped Mercury's shoulder, signalling him to fall back. </p><p>"What is it?" Glynda asked, stepping over and putting a hand on the door. "Don't worry. Everything is fine. It's just us, Ruby."</p><p>A snarl answered her. <em>Ruby? </em>Emerald thought, confusion rising. Cinder would certainly get a kick out of this--and she might just understand it, depending upon how well informed her boss was. </p><p>Emerald waved her hand back, gesturing Mercury to go move out. The two may have bickered as much as talked, but on a mission, it was silent, wordless communication and instant agreement.</p><p>Which was when the steel door behind them creaked in the breeze. Emerald froze with Mercury, hoping Glynda wouldn't notice any hint of hers and Mercury's presence. </p><p>Glynda opened her eyes wide, seeing both open doors. The door containing the monster--Ruby--broke down immediately, slamming Glynda back into her office with a shower of sparks as she slammed into the monitors and screamed in pain. The scream fell short as the massive, crimson shape slammed the door into the office once more. </p><p>Standing in front of them was a massive, vaguely humanoid wolf with a hunched back. Her fur was bright crimson, her eyes pale silver. She stepped forward on her paws, slowly, carefully. </p><p>Emerald released her Semblance, knowing the wolf was fully aware of her location. "Is...is that you, Ruby?" she asked, backing away. The wolf cocked her head as she advanced. </p><p>"It is you. My, you've, um, gotten bigger. You're really tall." Emerald gulped. She had just watched Ruby burst down a metal door with enough force to knock out a trained Huntress with full Aura. She was more than a little concerned about fighting this thing. "Hey. We're friends here, right? You know me!"</p><p>Ruby snarled, advancing. Walking on all fours, her head was about level with Emerald's, even as she squeezed through the small doorway into the opening room. </p><p>"Fuck this," Mercury muttered, kicking his leg out and firing a shot. Ruby lunged, and the bullet glanced off her fur without a scratch. Emerald dodged aside just in time as Ruby pinned Mercury to the ground. "Get off of me! Get off of--" She put her teeth around his neck, clamped hard, and twisted. With a crack, Mercury fell still, Aura crackling out. </p><p>Emerald's jaw dropped. She was imagining this, she had to be. Mercury didn't just die. He was faking. He was about to grab the wolf and drop her, outmaneuvering her expertly. He was--</p><p>Ruby sniffed at his chest. Then, she bit off a large chunk of flesh, chewing and swallowing it with bared fangs. </p><p>Emerald clamped her hands over her mouth, unable to look away. She fell to her knees, and Ruby turned her attention to the green-haired girl. The wolf leered over her, staring down at her. </p><p>"Mercury," Emerald whispered, tearing up. "No." Ruby let out an odd sound, turning and walking out the front door. Emerald fell down close to Mercury, crying. "No. No. You're tricking me. You can't be dead! You can't be!" She grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. "It isn't funny, Mercury! Wake up! <em>This isn't funny!"</em></p><p>Blood splattered across her face. She stared in shock as blood spilled across the floor. Then she screamed in fury and pain, screamed her vengeance at the world, for taking away the one person who wanted to be her friend.</p><p> </p><p>The sun shone down through JNPR's windows, as the four students stretched. Nora had spent her customary excessive amount of time in the washroom, and was now done and reclining on her bed. </p><p>The abnormal part of the morning came with the knock upon their door. Jaune got up and opened the door to Professor Port. "Ah, young Mister Arc," the man said, bouncing his bushy mustache and eyebrows. "Rally your team and head to Ozpin's office. Bring your weapons. We've got a mission for you."</p><p>Jaune blinked. "What? I mean, we'll--we'll be there, uh--"</p><p>"As soon as physically possible," Port urged before zipping off. Jaune looked at his team, stunned. "Um. We need to get moving?"</p><p> </p><p>Still tired, they arrived at Ozpin's office in step with team CFVY, who had received similar instructions from Oobleck. Neither team could figure out what was going on, and both were only filled with more questions as they entered the office. </p><p>Ozpin stood over, one arm around a crying Glynda Goodwitch. Her face was bruised and tear-streaked, and she blew her nose once again. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I...I fucked up, I could have--I could have stopped--could have saved--"</p><p>"You did what you did. Let's focus on fixing it now." He looked from the two teams to Port and Oobleck on either side of him. "I'm going to be honest, and quick. But first. What I'm about to tell you is highly confidential. In the end it is your choice to go on the mission, but I need your word that you will tell not a single soul about this. If you don't think you can keep the promise, I want you to leave now. If you choose to stay, you will be held to the mission. Understood?"</p><p>"I thought you said quick," Coco Adel muttered, hands on her hips. Jaune nodded, hands over his chest. Ozpin looked over the eight of them, and each nodded. "Last night, a certain...asset broke out of containment. A pair of students from Beacon thought it would be fun to break in and take a look around. One of them was tragically killed."</p><p>"By what?" Coco asked. </p><p>"We've been working with Atlas on some experimental ways to fight Grimm," Ozpin answered. "Trained animals can't quite manage it, of course, so we have been working on some growth formulas. We have a successful subject, a wolf named Scarlet." </p><p>Nora's head jerked up at that. </p><p>"Yes, the wolf that Weiss agreed to care for two days ago," Ozpin said. "Unfortunately, she got out. She is normally well behaved, but strangers poking around outside her cage provoked her. She is now loose in Forever Falls."</p><p>"Um." Velvet raised a hand. </p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"Why us? Why not military officers?"</p><p>Ozpin sighed. "I want to keep as few people knowing about this as possible. None of the Atlas personnel who know are here, and the few Valese people who are free to go and move out have done so already. I need a few more hands on deck, however, and you are the teams I can trust."</p><p>"You don't trust team RWBY?" Ren stated simply. </p><p>Ozpin sighed. "Even if their whole team was here, Ruby has a bad track record with secrets. She failed to keep me--or really, anyone else who was looking--from knowing exactly what went down with Torchwick at all steps of their little assault on injustice. So no, I really don't trust them to keep a secret like this. In addition, they've already done their part. It would not be fair asking more of them."</p><p>"What do you need us to do?" Jaune asked. </p><p>"Recover Scarlet," Ozpin said. "But it's not going to be easy. She is large, fast, and strong. She is incredibly hard to damage, and can quite easily kill you through your Aura. I want you to knock her unconscious without heavily injuring her--no wounds that could prove fatal. Which shouldn't be too hard, considering." He set his mug down on his desk. "Port will go with you, but the rest of us need to stay here. We can't just abandon the school for a day--people would notice. Port can give you all the info you need on the way there. Now, will you go?"</p><p>"Shouldn't be too hard," Coco said, hefting her purse. Jaune looked at his own team, who nodded. </p><p>"Let's go," Jaune said. </p><p>As they left, Nora head Glynda say, "What--what do I tell Yang?"</p><p>"If they can get her back before the day's over, Yang never needs to hear about this, and Ruby as well." He sighed. "It's for <em>them."</em></p><p>Nora almost stopped and turned at that comment. She decided against it, however, and went out with her team without waiting. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Don't worry, students! With me by you, you are in very little real danger!" Port assured them as he piloted the jet. Nothing as large as an Airbus, but decently sized enough. "Just remember. Keep out of her reach, and try to avoid all her slashes and especially her bites. Her jaws are tough. If you get into real trouble, say her name repeatedly and soothingly. It should, at the very least, disorient her enough to allow you to retreat, but please, try to avoid needing to do that in the first place." </p>
<p>"She sounds tough," Coco muttered. "And very dangerous."</p>
<p>"Well, if she weren't, she could hardly fight Grimm, could she?" Port countered. "She has a role and a job, you know. Of course she has to be dangerous. She just needs a little training."</p>
<p>"You'd know a lot about training, I wager," Nora said. "Did you go to Beacon?"</p>
<p>"Of course I did!" Port laughed. "In fact, I was a teacher's assistant! And that reminds me..."</p>
<p>Content that Port was busy and distracted, Nora held up her phone with the message, "No talking, join group chat" on it so that her teammates and team CFVY could see. They all shared a look and Coco started to say something, but Nora put a finger to her lips, nodding at Port's back. Frowning, Coco joined the chat with everyone else. </p>
<p>"What is it?" Pyrrha typed, curious and worried. </p>
<p>"Most of what Port just said was a lie," Nora typed. "I can tell when people are lying. Port lied, and I'm reasonably certain Ozpin was too about most of this. I don't think Scarlet is an experiment, and we are definitely in large amounts of danger right now."</p>
<p>"What exactly do you mean by that?" Coco sent, glaring at her. "Our teachers are liars who raise giant monsters?"</p>
<p>"I don't know what's going on, but it's not what they're saying is going on," Nora sent back. "Be careful."</p>
<p>"How do you know he's lying?" Velvet asked. </p>
<p>There were subtle cues--heartbeat, slightly different tone of voice than he normally used. It wasn't absolutely certain that he was lying. But she felt it was pretty damn close, and pretty damn convenient that this happens while Ruby's away, they didn't want Yang to know, and oh yeah, Scarlet was Ruby in the first place.</p>
<p>"Actually, I'm with Nora," Fox typed. Nora blinked, looking over towards Fox, who was whispering quietly with Coco, who appeared to be typing for him. "I can usually detect lies by Aura, and Port lied. We need to be careful, though I too am curious to know how Nora figured it out."</p>
<p>"Call it a hunch," Nora sent back. "I'll explain if I'm right." If she was right, and she was certain she was, then she'd explain it all to the seven of them. "His tips for dealing with Scarlet were definitely correct though, and I'm certain his phrasing was on purpose there."</p>
<p>Everyone was interrupted by a howl. A howl that sounded vaguely like a wolf, but also like a human scream. Nora paused, and realized that since Ruby and Yang had the same father, Ruby would be only <em>half </em>werewolf. Which would be...interesting to see, at the very least. Port immediately shut up, setting the airship down. "Focus, Huntsmen! The beast is near." </p>
<p>Nora cracked her neck, waving her scroll at her friends before pocketing it. Something was going to go down, and she didn't like it at all. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Port examined the footprint, Jaune and Coco right behind him. "Scarlet is not fully aware of anything going on at all times," Port said. "She's not trying to move stealthily, and she might not even know what's going on. Try being gentle first, and then attack if she strikes first. Don't worry too much about accidentally hurting her, though."</p>
<p>"That print is huge," Jaune muttered, putting his hand in the hole. The footprint was easily twice the size of his hand. </p>
<p>Port tapped the nearby tree, pointing out a large slash mark. "She's stumbling around, clumsily. This should be easy." As he moved on a head, Coco hung back and tapped Nora on the shoulder. "How exactly does a wolf leave a slash mark like that almost eight feet off the ground?"</p>
<p>"Either she's twenty feet tall, or standing on her hind legs, like Port implied with his language," Nora replied casually. "You catch hold of nearby objects when you stumble, don't you?"</p>
<p>"Even on her hind legs--she has to be huge!" Nora examined the scarlet trees around her, then looked up ahead at Port. They were on "Scarlet's" trail, and she was on edge. </p>
<p>"A twelve foot tall wolf walking around on her hind legs with a human scream," Fox muttered with a smile. "What's not to like?"</p>
<p>Nora admired his attitude about the whole thing. </p>
<p>"Um...guys? Come over here a second," Jaune called out. They ran up, catching up with Port and Jaune. Jaune pointed at the tracks. "What does this look like to you?"</p>
<p>"Hmm, I dunno," Fox said. "Maybe tell me what you think it looks like and then I'll repeat it." With a big, dumb smile on his face, he waved a hand in front of his eyes. </p>
<p>Before Jaune could say anything, Coco said, "There's a human hand print inside the wolf print."</p>
<p>"That's my hand print," Jaune said. "This is the first track we came across. And that's our jet, right there."</p>
<p>"You just led us in a big circle?" Coco said, hand on her hip. </p>
<p>"Not that I can really complain about your ability to follow tracks, but I feel like a mistake was made."</p>
<p>"Not my fault. The tracks appear to go in a circle." Port pointed out another track nearby, leaning against a tree. "She's probably confused, and just wandering."</p>
<p>"That track is fresh," Nora said slowly. "Gods, she's <em>following </em>us."</p>
<p>"Don't be ridiculous," Port said with a snort. "She's never shown that kind of thinking before, especially after having lost control. She can only really think when she's smaller, in her other form."</p>
<p>"'Other' form?" Coco said, holding up a hand. </p>
<p>"We did see her the other day," Ren explained. "She was a lot smaller than she appears to be now. I'm guessing something about your 'growth formulas' made her have trouble--Nora?"</p>
<p>Everyone turned to Nora, who was staring off into the woods. She sniffed once, twice, eyes narrowing. She gulped. "So, about what I said on the jet. Good news and bad news, and both are that I appear to have been right about my hunch."</p>
<p>"Right about..." Port frowned. "I appear to have missed something. What are you talking a--" He was pulled backwards, flipped into the air and slammed into the ground. He cried out as he was swung back through the tree and he rolled across the ground, hitting a rock and falling still. </p>
<p>A massive, twelve foot bright crimson wolf reared, roaring through the forest with its bizarre howl. It fell down on all fours, glaring at them and snarling. </p>
<p>"Oh, SHIT," Coco said, backing up.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eight weapons were pulled out and pointed straight at Scarlet, who was exactly as big as Nora had expected. </p><p>And just about twice the size of Nora's own wolf form. Not that she was jealous or anything.</p><p>Jaune hesitated, then sheathed his sword. </p><p>"What are you doing?" Nora hissed. Ignoring her, he stepped forward, stretching out a hand. "Heeeeello," he said nervously, stepping towards Scarlet. Scarlet fell quiet, two silver eyes glaring Jaune down. "Aw, you're not angry," Jaune said quietly. He reached out, putting his hand on the wolf's head. "You're just a little confused, and alone. It's okay. We're here for you, Scarlet."</p><p>The wolf snarled, grabbing Jaune's hand with her teeth and tossing him aside like he was nothing. Jaune collapsed against a tree groaning as Scarlet roared again. Everyone opened fire, and bullets bounced off Scarlet's Aura. She stumbled, snarling, before lunging for Coco. She swatted the Gatling gun aside, and Coco flipped back, swapping the gun to a handbag. She bounced back from Scarlet, swinging her purse at the wolf. Velvet leaped into the air, swinging a hard light version of Ruby's scythe down at Scarlet. </p><p>The weapon broke and shattered. Velvet stumbled, falling down beside Coco. Scarlet roared at them, and Yatsuhashi lunged, shoving her aside. The wolf turned, staring him down. He wearily backed away, holding up his sword as Scarlet circled him. Pyrrha cracked off a few more shots, but the bullets glanced off the wolf. She hesitated, slowly thinking what to do. Ren helped Jaune to his feet, watching Scarlet with his full attention. </p><p>"What do we do?" Ren asked. </p><p>"I don't know," Jaune said, examining his forearm. he pulled his shredded armband off, ripping it and turning it into a bandage. "She easily bit through my Aura. She doesn't seem like she cares about us attacking her..."</p><p>"Just bonk her," Nora said. "I'll explain later, but for now, just knock her out." She hefted Magnhild, moving on to the opposite side of Scarlet from Yatsuhashi. Coco hefted her purse, and Velvet held up her fists, putting away her camera. Scarlet snarled, then paused, sniffing. She sniffed the air, looking up. She turned and gazed at Nora, sniffing again. </p><p>She fell silent, and two words played repeatedly in Nora's mind. </p><p>
  <em>Oh, fuck.</em>
</p><p>She backed away from Scarlet as she growled, stepping towards Nora. "Um..." Nora gulped. "Second thoughts about that proclamation."</p><p><em>I recognized her when she was a wolf. Why oh why would I not think she would recognize me? </em>She rolled to the side, underneath Scarlet's lunge. She fell back as her friends opened fire upon Scarlet. The wolf lunged, her front paws landing on Nora's shoulders. She snarled, snapping at Nora with her teeth. Nora staved her off with Magnhild, the wolf spitting and chomping on the hammer's handle. Her claws dug into Nora, piercing her shoulders and shedding blood. Nora gritted her teeth, frantically shoving back at Scarlet as spittle hit her face. Somehow, Nora managed to find time to hurk in disgust, sticking out her tongue with a, "Eck."</p><p>Ren leapt on top of Scarlet, slashing his weapons at the wolf. Finally, the blades slipped through the Aura, cutting the wolf. Scarlet screamed in rage and pain, bucking and rearing, getting off of Nora and roaring. Ren cried out as Scarlet roared, bucking and twisting and shaking. Coco grabbed Nora, pulling her back to safety. The rest of JNPR and CFVY engaged her, attacking her and keeping her down. </p><p>"Don't hurt her too badly, remember?" Coco called out.</p><p>Scarlet screamed in pain, and Ren was flung off, hitting a tree. </p><p>Nora gasped. With gritted teeth, she said, "That's not going to work. Either she's going to get hurt, or we are. Only one option left, and I'm afraid you're going to have to trust me on this."</p><p>"What do you need?" Coco asked, setting her purse aside. </p><p>"I need to be faster. She hates me a lot," Nora said, "so I can bait her out while you guys knock her out."</p><p>"How do you plan on getting faster?" Coco asked. "It's not like there's a million gallons of coffee at disposal."</p><p>"Again, trust me," Nora said. "I'll fully explain later, but for now." She grimaced. "Help me take off the jacket."</p><p>"Come again?"</p><p>Scarlet roared. She glared down Yatsuhashi, Aura flickering as she panted and snarled. </p><p>"I can't go easy on her," Pyrrha muttered. "If I slow down, I'll just end up dying myself."</p><p>"We just need to press on," Yatsuhashi said. "At this point, the professor can't really complain too much..."</p><p>"Nora?" Coco gasped in shock. All eyes turned and focused on the large, violet wolf with emerald green eyes. Coco backed away, hands over her mouth. </p><p>"Nora!" Ren cried. </p><p>"What's happening?" Fox asked. "What's wrong with Nora? Her Aura seems fine."</p><p>"She turned into a wolf," Coco said quietly. </p><p>Scarlet roared in fury and anger, facing Nora. Nora roared back as Scarlet lunged. </p><p>"She turned into a what?" Fox said. </p><p>"She said she was baiting!" Coco said. "Knock Scarlet out while she focuses Nora! She said she'd explain later, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let her die before she does so!" She lunged forward, slamming Scarlet with her purse. The wolf stumbled, turning to Coco briefly before returning her glare to Nora. Nora barked and snarled. Scarlet let loose a roar that could have awoken stones from their slumber. Nora yipped, leaping out of range of Scarlet's snapping teeth. Coco slammed into Scarlet's side as Pyrrha struck her shoulder from the other side. Scarlet shoved them both away, shaking and roaring, turning to Nora. Fox stepped in front of Nora, fists clenched. Scarlet charged, bounding forward, snapping and snarling. </p><p>"Ruby?" Fox asked slowly. Scarlet screeched to a stop. She paused, looking down at Fox's face. </p><p>"That <em>is </em>you," Fox said quietly. "I mean, I was confused, I wasn't sure what was going on. Your Aura is slightly different, I thought I was going crazy. Then I heard Nora turned into a wolf, and I was like, 'wait a minute'. Are...what..." He shrugged helplessly. He reached out, putting a hand on her head. "Sorry for this, by the way." He slammed one fist on each side of her head. Ruby stumbled, snarling, before collapsing, unconscious. </p><p>"I'll have to get her something nice to apologize later," he said, wringing his wrists. "Nora?"</p><p>"Give me a minute to put my clothes back on," Nora's voice came from behind a tree. "Urgh. Believe me, it hurts more than you'd think."</p><p>"I'd imagine remolding your flesh into the shape of a wolf would hurt quite a lot," Ren muttered, rubbing his head. </p><p>"Explanation. Now," Coco said firmly.</p><p>Nora stepped out from behind the tree, buttoning up her jacket. "Professor! You're awake!"</p><p>Port mumbled something, rubbing his head. "I...you..." He spied Scarlet. "Well...well done, students! She only has a few scratches! Oh. You eight don't look so lucky, however. Don't worry--the nurse at Beacon will patch you up in no time!" He hopped to his feet like he hadn't just been unconscious and he didn't weigh several hundred pounds. "You kids took all my action. I don't get much anymore, you know."</p><p>"Then you shouldn't sleep on the job," Nora chuckled, hand on her hip. </p><p>"Hmph, fair enough. Help me get Scarlet into her cage. And Miss Valkyrie?"</p><p>"Yeh?"</p><p>"You may wish to spend a moment on your hair," Port said, moving over to Ruby and beckoning for CFVY to come over. Jaune and Pyrrha looked over to see the violet wolf ear peeking out of Nora's hair. Nora straightened her hair, maneuvering it perfectly so the ears were covered as she drew her lips to a line. Coco looked over at Nora, about to say something. Nora tapped her Scroll casually, lazily, raising a finger to her lips. </p><p>Coco stopped, then nodded, moving over to help Port. </p><p>Ren put his hand in Nora's. "It was coming eventually," he whispered. Jaune gave him a look, but Nora sighed. </p><p> </p><p>Once everyone had joined the group chat, Nora cut straight to the chase and typed, "I am a werewolf."</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Reflection: Ignite</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Worlds and planets are plentiful, and this fic is simply another mirror, another reflection, of the show we all know and love. The 'reflection' chapters are named after the episode they mirror--for example, Ruby Rose was the first episode, and the Reflection for that was the conversation they had in this world. </p><p>Hope that clears up any confusion on this topic, I probably should have explained this earlier!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>REC--FILE ONE</p><p> </p><p>The camera shakily centered on wolf Ruby--who was only ten, yet was somehow almost the same size as Yang. "Is this thing on?" Yang asked, and the camera shook. "Oh, hey! It is on!"</p><p>"Um, excuse me. What are you doing?" The camera and the wolf turned up to face Taiyang, who was looking down at his daughters. </p><p>"Well, Mom didn't leave us anything to go on to figure out Ruby's wolf," Yang explained, pointing the camera back at Ruby. "So I decided to think ahead. This way, Ruby can show her kids what she had to deal with. Growing up as a werewolf, what to expect and all."</p><p>"That's actually pretty clever," Tai said, scratching his head. "Wait, are you recording now?"</p><p>"Yup."</p><p>"...I knew I should have worn pants."</p><p> </p><p>REC--FILE TWO</p><p> </p><p>"<em>Yang, what are you--"</em></p><p>"Shhhh," Yang told her father. She pointed the camera to her side, where the massive wolf lay sleeping on her lap. A full moon shone in through the window. "I finally got her asleep, Dad. You really trying to wake her up?"</p><p>"You shouldn't be in here," Taiyang said as the camera focused back on him. "She can't control herself, Yang."</p><p>"I'm still her sister, though," Yang said, scratching behind Ruby's ears. "She's not gonna do anything to me." The wolf stirred, but didn't rise. </p><p>"Yang--" Tai sighed, rubbing his face. "Just be careful."</p><p>"Always am."</p><p> </p><p>REC--FILE THREE</p><p> </p><p>"Yo, Dad," Yang asked. Ruby's nose was in the corner of the camera, as well as Yang's arms wrapped around her sister's shoulders. "What was it like for Mom? Going to school while being a werewolf?"</p><p>"Oh, boy," Tai muttered. He took a seat beside Yang, thinking. "At that point, she'd mostly managed to control herself, and was normally able to prevent herself from getting anywhere near us while she couldn't. That being said, there were a few accidents, but nothing too serious."</p><p>"How did she explain away the once a month disappearances?" Yang asked. </p><p>"First off, she was normally only gone at night, and before the three of us knew, we were kinda freaked out about that. Qrow thought she was doing drugs, Raven thought she was doing criminal activity. I was just going to let her work out her own problems, and get us to help her if she needed to." He shrugged. "Summer was independent."</p><p>"But how did she explain it to everyone else?" Yang pressed, shaking the camera at him. </p><p>Tai chuckled. "She never chose one specific reason. Often it was she liked walking underneath a full moon. Sometimes she liked doing late night shopping. No one ever figured out what she was doing, but everyone knew it wasn't what she said." He chuckled. "She was a terrible liar, you know."</p><p>"If Ruby is as much like her as you say she is, then yeah, I'd imagine so," Yang laughed. Ruby barked at her, nudging her sister with her snout as Yang laughed. "Did...did Mom know her parents?"</p><p>"No. She never knew them," Tai said, sighing. "Would have made a few things easier, but I imagine it's hard for werewolves to live without being discovered. Or something else happened to them. Who knows?" He shrugged, then rose and left the room. </p><p>"Guess we're both a bit like her, eh?" Yang chuckled without humor. Ruby whined, and Yang wrapped her arms around her sister's shoulders. </p><p> </p><p>REC--FILE FOUR</p><p> </p><p>The camera shook violently, centering on the steel door that had been ripped to shreds. "Fuck," Yang whispered, aghast, as she looked into the torn path into the woods. The camera moved back towards where Glynda Goodwitch lay unconscious. "Fuck," Yang whispered again, running into the forest. "Ruby--Ruby broke out. She normally doesn't even bother--there were some hikers nearby, I--dammit. One of them must have had a cut or something, and that riled her up. Gotta get to her before--" She paused abruptly at the sound of a sickening crunch. The camera faced the ground, and Yang removed her foot from the corpse that lay there. "Oh, gods. Ruby." The camera shakily moved to focus on the woods. "Damn it all. Damn it!" The crunching of branches distracted Yang, and the camera quickly spun, shaking. "Ruby?" Yang asked, moving the camera over the trees. The camera flung from her grasp, spinning and the lens cracking as it hit the dirt, just barely showing the crimson wolf pinning Yang down. </p><p>"Ruby! Stop! It's me! It's your sister! It's Yang! Please! STOP! AH!" Specks of blood hit the camera. </p><p>"Please...Ruby...it's...me..."</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Blake lowered her book, and Weiss set down her homework as the door slowly cracked open. Ruby peaked inside the room, then came in. "Hey, guys," she said. "I'm back."</p><p>"Hey, Sis," Yang grinned. "How was home?"</p><p>"Same old, same old," Ruby said, moving to her own bed and sitting down. "Uncle Qrow's getting better. I was worried over nothing again."</p><p>"Caution doesn't hurt anything," Weiss stated, moving back to her homework. </p><p>Ruby smiled, knowing more than Weiss did about how right the heiress was. Ruby threw off her jacket, lying down in tank top and jeans. She sighed, looking out the window. </p><p>"Something wrong?" Blake asked, hopping down from her bunk and stepping over to Ruby. </p><p>Ruby rolled onto her stomach, wrapping her arms around her pillow, her tail falling still beside her. "Nah. Just a little drained."</p><p>Much to her surprise, Blake reached over and laid a hand on Ruby's forehead. "No fever," Blake said, nodding, moving back to her bed and picking up her book again. </p><p>"So, Ruby," Weiss asked hesitantly. "Your father...raises dogs?"</p><p>"Ouch," Ruby said. "What do you mean by that?"</p><p>"I wasn't talking about you and Yang, you dolt! If I'm going to insult you, I'll do it directly, thank you very much!" Weiss huffed. "I'm talking about Scarlet."</p><p>"Oh. That dog. I don't know much about her, I don't really get involved in Dad's hobbies," Ruby said, grip tightening on her pillow. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Weiss draw her lips into a line. Clearly Weiss didn't buy that, and she appeared annoyed that she was being lied to. </p><p>Ruby decided to approach the problem directly. "...You don't believe me?" Ruby asked.</p><p>"That was no normal wolf," Weiss said carefully. </p><p>"For the love of the gods, I've told you once, I've told you twice," Yang growled. "Everything is fine with Scarlet. I'd hear from Ozpin if there were any problems."</p><p>"Hmm," Ruby muttered into her pillow. Clearly, Ozpin wasn't too keen on telling Yang about the fact that there was a student who wasn't graduating. Ruby would have to bring it up to Yang--carefully--later. In the meantime, she pulled her scroll from her nightstand. "I can't believe I left this here," she said. "Haven't missed too many messages, looks like." She stopped. "Why the hell was Nora asking about the weather?" she burst out with. </p><p>"Maybe she couldn't think of anything else to say?" Yang asked hesitantly. "I dunno. Maybe I ought to ask her."</p><p>Ruby sent back a message to Nora. "Patch isn't normally rainy except in winter and spring. Rest of the time, it's usually clear skies. Also, I heard about your injuries. You guys doing okay?"</p><p>"You heard anything about JNPR's mission?" she asked Weiss. </p><p>"Nothing, really," Weiss said. "I asked, but they said that Professor Ozpin wanted to keep things on the hush."</p><p>"I'll have to make them a get-well card," Ruby muttered. Of course, it wasn't a get-well card. It was more of a 'sorry-for-brutally-mauling-and-trying-to-eat-you' card. But saying that out loud would only have gotten her weird, and completely deserved, looks. </p><p>But things were going to be more complicated now. JNPR and CFVY both knew she was a werewolf. Nora had probably explained a lot about what a werewolf was--but that greatly depended on how much Nora knew about what a werewolf was. </p><p>"Hey. Have any of you seen Emerald or any of team CMEN?" Yang asked hesitantly. "Emerald was asking after Ruby a few days ago, then she and her team just vanished. I haven't been able to get in touch with them."</p><p><em>I may have eaten one of them, </em>Ruby thought grimly. Mercury was one of only three people she had killed...though the previous two had been less suspicious than he had. She averted her team's gaze, pulling her blanket up over herself. </p><p>"Ruby?" Blake asked, worry sounding. </p><p>"I'm just tired," Ruby replied. "See ya tomorrow."</p><p> </p><p>Nora cracked her knuckles, flexing her fingers. "Still a little sore," she muttered. </p><p>"Does it normally ease up by now?" Pyrrha asked cautiously, looking around.</p><p>As JNPR was seated at their own table, with no one else near, Nora rolled her eyes. "I was injured. Changing at that time was reckless, but it all worked out." She winced, fingers popping. "Same time, <em>ow."</em></p><p>"Look." Ren pointed to the cafeteria entrance as, fashionably late per there norm, team RWBY came in. Blake, Yang, Weiss, and finally, Ruby. Ruby paused in the door, looked right at them, and narrowed her eyes. She said something to her team, then immediately walked over to JNPR's table and grabbed Nora by the shoulder. "I need to borrow your girlfriend, Ren."</p><p>"First, not my girlfriend. Second, give her back around lunch time. We had team attack practice." </p><p>Nora sputtered as Ruby dragged her away. "Traitors! You will pay for treason!" Nora called out, shaking her fist at them. "Ow, ow, careful, Ruby!"</p><p>Ruby ignored her. She checked to make sure they were alone in the hallway, then dropped Nora against a wall. "OW." Nora rubbed her shoulder. "You did a number on these shoulders twice over now." </p><p>Ruby leaned back against a wall, folding her arms over her chest. She looked at Nora like she'd never seen her before. In a way, she hadn't. </p><p>"You're...like me." </p><p>"More of, you're half like me," Nora replied with a shrug--a shrug she immediately regretted. Rubbing her shoulders, she explained. "You're only half wolf, right?"</p><p>"Doesn't werewolf literally mean 'man-wolf'?"</p><p>"Yet we're both women," Nora said, raising an eyebrow. "You and Yang have the same dad, I thought, so I'm guessing he's human?"</p><p>"Yeah. What...what about..."</p><p>"I never knew my parents, though I know they were both wolves," Nora said. "Well, I did know them, but I don't remember them. They died when I was little. I think. It's all so muddied." She shook her head. "I don't remember them, but I have learned a bit about controlling the wolf over the years. Stuff I feel you already know."</p><p>"You can turn on command," Ruby said quietly. </p><p>"You can't?" Nora blinked. </p><p>"I can't control my wolf at all. Though, maybe I can now. I don't know. Ozpin just said my mom went through a similar thing at my age..."</p><p>"You might need to back up a few paces there, Rubes," Nora said. "I don't even know what you're talking about. I can control my wolf--it was harder when I was younger, but I've pretty much always been able too."</p><p>Ruby frowned. "But--if Mom went through the same thing--"</p><p>Nora caught on. "Was she half wolf too?"</p><p>"She never knew her parents," Ruby answered. "I asked Dad about it. I guess...I dunno."</p><p>Nora shrugged. "Whatever. If you ever need wolf-related help, don't hesitate to call me. And just for the record, did you tell Oz? About me?"</p><p>"He already knew. I think Port told him."</p><p><em>Well, fuck me then, </em>Nora thought with a grimace. Realistically, there were worse people that information could have gone too. Still...</p><p>"And how much did you tell CFVY and your team?" Ruby asked. </p><p>"Ren knew everything already--everything I knew, anyway. I just told them the basics, and a few idle speculations. Besides, I don't know anything you'd want to keep hidden. While I'm sure you have your own secrets--especially if you <em>can't </em>control your wolf--I won't pry." She smiled encouragingly, leaving her silver-eyed friend to her own thoughts. </p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"The Monster of Forever Falls?" Blake read, holding up the newspaper. "Massive wolf spotted--attacking children? It sounds like just a Beowulf. Some of the Grimm get pretty old."</p><p>"What are you reading?" Ruby asked, leaning over, chewing her lunch. </p><p>"I got this newspaper in town," Weiss said. </p><p>"Giant monster?" Ruby asked curiously. "Ooh. Cool. I mean, obviously not for the people it attacked, but--"</p><p>"There's a picture," Blake said, turning the page. "Gods, that thing looks nasty."</p><p>"That's...just a wolf," Weiss said, frowning. "Not a normal one, but--isn't that Scarlet?"</p><p>"Probably not," Ruby said. "I don't remember her being that big."</p><p>"Lemme see," Yang said, taking the paper. "Oh. Yeah you can't tell much from a black and white photo. Could be any wolf, y'know?"</p><p>"If it is anything at--" Blake frowned. "Hey. Jaune, didn't you guys just go on a mission in Forever Falls?"</p><p>Jaune, across the table, met her eyes, then looked away. "Just-just some Grimm," he muttered. </p><p>"Don't be ridiculous," Yang said. "Scarlet's a good dog, and I'm sure I would have heard from Oz if she ran away. He knows how much I like her."</p><p>Blake took the paper back and put it away. "Maybe I can get a ride out there. Do a little poking around after school."</p><p>"Oh, please," Yang said, rubbing her forehead. "What'll I have to do to make you see that there's nothing--" She paused abruptly, then a big, stupid grin split her face. "Wait right here," she said, sounding pleased with herself as she ran off. </p><p>"What is she doing?" Weiss asked. </p><p>"Knowing her? Getting Professor Ozpin to get us a ride to Forever Fall," Ruby said, chewing her breakfast. </p><p>"Why would she do that?" Blake asked, frowning. </p><p>"She has nothing to hide," Ruby said, munching. </p><p>"She most decidedly does, though," Blake replied. "She even promised that she would explain it when she could."</p><p>"Then maybe..." Ruby grabbed Blake by the ear, pulling her close. "Maybe she's going to tell you that she can't explain it yet, eh?"</p><p>"I didn't bring it up," Blake muttered, breaking free from Ruby's grip. </p><p>"If you do go, make sure to bring me back some syrup," Nora said slyly, adding a wink for good measure. </p><p> </p><p>"We really don't have to do this," Blake said as the jet landed. </p><p>"Oh, no," Yang said, stepping up beside her. "I want to make sure you know. Everything I can tell you, I have. It's not <em>my </em>secret, Blakey." She put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Some day I will explain all of this to you two--"</p><p>"Wait, Ruby knows it?" Weiss asked. </p><p>Ruby scoffed. "Of course," she muttered. "We grew up together, you know. She couldn't hide something from me if she wanted to. Just like she told me about her cru--"</p><p>"A-<em>hem.</em>" Ruby clamped her mouth shut. Yang glared at her, then turned to Weiss and Blake. "There is no giant wolf monster in these woods, and if there is--" She paused. "If there is, it ain't the one I'm thinking of. To prove it, go on. Go look around. There is nothing in these woods."</p><p>"Make sure you can find your way back to the jet," Glynda cautioned. "Call me when you're heading back." </p><p>Weiss looked around the woods, then grabbed Yang by the shoulder, dragging the blonde with her. "Since you dragged us all the way out here anyway, you are going to help me get some more of this syrup. The stuff is expensive, so I'm grabbing as much as you can carry."</p><p>"Hey--what--this wasn't the--"</p><p>Despite herself, Blake smiled at that. "This time, she's actually overreacting. I didn't say anything about not trusting her. I was just curious about the giant wolf monster I saw in the paper."</p><p>Ruby didn't reply. When Blake looked her way, she saw Ruby wasn't even paying attention. Ruby traced a path along the sky with her finger, marking the sun's direction, and then pointed north, into the woods. "Ruby?" Blake asked hesitantly. Ruby walked off in the direction she pointed, silent. Blake followed, keeping pace with her friend. "Ruby--where are you going?"</p><p>Ruby still didn't answer. She strode across a tree that had fallen over a river, towards a small, compact bunker. The door swung open on its hinges as Ruby stepped inside. Blake followed, unsure what she was seeing. A small room, carpeted flooring, a giant ice box in the corner. A small hallway sat at the end, with a room on each side of it. A steel vault door sat, dented and unusable on the ground. The carpet had several fresh-ish bloodstains on it. </p><p>Someone had died here. Blake felt sure of it. "What is this place?" she asked. </p><p>Ruby jumped a full foot in the air, shrieking. "Blake? What--did you follow me?"</p><p>"I said your name several times," Blake sputtered. "You didn't answer. I got worried."</p><p>"Sorry. I wasn't paying too much attention, I guess..." She didn't say it in her normal demeanor. </p><p>"What's wrong? What...what is this place?"</p><p>"Now? Now it is nothing to anyone else. To me, it's a reminder." Ruby clenched one of her hands into a fist, the knuckles turning white. </p><p>Blake grabbed Ruby by the shoulder. "Are you okay?"</p><p>Ruby turned to Blake, wiping tears from her eyes. "Not fully."</p><p>"I--"</p><p>Ruby hugged Blake. "Thank you for trying to help. There's nothing you can do, but it helps enough that you're trying."</p><p>They stood there like that for a long moment. "If you ever need any help--" Blake cut off. Ruby broke away from her, sniffing. "What are you doing?" Blake asked. </p><p>"Get down!" Ruby cried, throwing Blake aside as a feathered dart hit Ruby's shoulder. Ruby growled, plucking the dart out of her shoulder. Blake felt a pang on her shoulder, and pulled out the dart out. Immediately, her vision blurred. </p><p>Several more darts hit Ruby, and she stumbled to her knees, pulling out Crescent Rose. She shook, unable to aim. A final dart hit her, and she fell on top of Blake. She blinked, trying to clear her vision. </p><p>A pair of legs in heels stepped in front of her. Ruby looked up, meeting Cinder's eyes. Cinder didn't look like someone mourning a teammate. She looked...pleased. "You're the wolf," she mused. She stretched out a long finger, tilting Ruby's head up a little. "I expected a weapon, but you'll do much better. I'm certain that you will be beautiful."</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I hope you learned your lesson, Xiao Long. You've always been two quick to jump to conclusions," Weiss said, shaking her head. "We just saw a newspaper and were interested. You're allowed your secrets, but please, don't ever do that again."</p><p>"Fair enough," Yang muttered, struggling to keep both things of syrup balanced. She barely managed to drop them both on the jet, before collapsing. "Sorry. I just...felt kind of done with everything."</p><p>"It's okay," Weiss said. "Ruby, Blake! You ready?"</p><p>"They aren't back yet," Glynda called out. </p><p>Weiss looked alarmed. "What?"</p><p>"I'm sure they're fine," Yang said, waving it off. "What was it you just said about not jumping to conclusions?"</p><p>Weiss pulled out her scroll, calling Ruby. She held the scroll up to her ear for a long minute, then lowered it. "Went to voicemail," she said slowly. Yang pulled out her own phone, calling Ruby herself. After it went to voicemail, she called again. "Alright. That's not good."</p><p>"She's probably okay," Weiss said hesitantly. "Maybe distracted. Like, making out with Blake or something."</p><p>Yang scoffed. "I don't think so. Weiss, they might be--" She stopped. "Wait. Are Blake and Ruby--oh, who cares? Weiss, they might be in trouble."</p><p>"Ru--by! Bla-ake!" Weiss called out. She called out again, louder, cupping her hands over her mouth. She pulled out her scroll and her rapier. "No reply from Blake either."</p><p>"I saw Ruby heading off that way," Glynda said, pointing. "Follow me." She pulled out her switch, swishing it through the air once or twice. </p><p>"I swear to the gods, if they are just making out or something like that, they will be in trouble," Weiss muttered, following her. </p><p>"Get in line," Glynda growled. "I swear, that girl puts me through so much stress..."</p><p>"You're asleep for most of it, Paper Crown," Yang replied. </p><p>"Oi!" Glynda said, turning her head and glaring at Yang as she walked. "I'm not <em>that</em> easy to knock out."</p><p>"Yeah, well, I'd think a telekinetic could have prevented that from happening."</p><p>"You stay conscious after having a vault door thrown at you--<em>when you didn't know it was coming." </em>Glynda turned her attention to the path, walking across a river via a fallen tree. "But if she throws a <em>third </em>door at me, she's getting double homework for the rest of the year."</p><p>"What are you two talking about?" Weiss sputtered. </p><p>"Forgot you were there," Glynda muttered, stopping in front of a bunker. "Ruby!" she called out. "Why would the two of them head all the way out here? She knows there's nothing here."</p><p>"What is this place?" Weiss asked, peaking inside. "And what got out?" She looked back at Glynda, then to Yang. </p><p>Yang clenched her hands into fists. "A <em>third </em>door, Glynda? Don't you mean 'second'?"</p><p>Glynda froze. "Um--"</p><p>"Listen here a minute," Yang said, walking towards Glynda, jabbing a finger in the older woman's face. "I know exactly what this place is, and I know what was supposed to be locked up securely inside that vault--the one that's suspiciously been knocked down next to a bloodstains. And the fact that a few of my friends went missing did not escape my notice either."</p><p>"Let me explain--"</p><p>"There's nothing to explain! She broke out and killed someone! No wonder Ruby's been so distressed! Why the hell didn't you tell me about this?" Yang screamed. </p><p>"Yang!" Glynda snapped. </p><p>"No! Let me finish--" Glynda smacked her hand away, then pointed her switch at Weiss, who's jaw had dropped to the floor. "Did you just say--Ruby killed someone? A student?"</p><p>"Oh, fuck," Yang muttered. </p><p>Glynda reached down, pulling a dart off the ground. "We need to head back. To Ozpin. Then...I guess you spilled the beans, Yang. He'll explain things--to both of you."</p><p>"He'd better have one hell of an explanation," Yang muttered. </p><p> </p><p>Blake didn't open her eyes immediately upon regaining consciousness. Instead of alerting her captors to the fact that she was awake, she toyed with the rope tying her wrists together. It was actually a metal wire, and not one she could break. And tight enough so that she couldn't slip out. She was tied to a chair, she knew, but other than that, she had no clue what tools were in her room. </p><p>"Getting comfy?" a voice asked dryly. Cinder? Blake opened her eyes, examining her cell. It was concrete, with a vent high in the ceiling, and a shut door that was probably barred. The room was featureless, and empty. Ruby huddled at the opposite end of the room, breathing heavy. Her hood and shirt were gone, and she was in her jeans and a bra. Her wolf tail was stiff, unmoving. </p><p>"Ruby?" Blake asked. </p><p>"Don't. Talk to me," Ruby hissed. "Let me. Focus." She growled, stretching, bones cracking and popping. </p><p>"Leave her be," Cinder said, bemused. Blake caught sight of a camera in the top of the room, but couldn't figure out how Cinder knew she'd awoken. "Don't talk to her. Let's you and me talk."</p><p>"What about?" Blake asked slowly. She kept her eyes on Ruby, who writhed on the ground, breathing intense. </p><p>"About what the world used to be like," Cinder said. "Back in the olden days, magic was freely used and common. Power was for everyone, and...every thing. Every non-human, creepy crawly that stalked the night. Now, magic is dying. You can only find a small amount of it, preserved in a few ancient relics of the past. And in a few of their children. Ruby is a werewolf. When the moon is full--and around that time, too--she turns into a wolf, losing control of herself because she is only half werewolf. Her father was human, of course, but I'm sure she'll still be beautiful to see. Their used to be vampires, too, but Salem says...Salem says they didn't care to stay here longer." There was a slight pause. "Few werewolves remain nowadays. Aside from the two of Beacon, I know of but one other, and she--she has lost herself in recent times. Hasn't turned back to human in a long while."</p><p>"What is this about?" Blake demanded. She wasn't sure if this was some sort of psychotic, mad ramble, or if there was any truth behind it. But if it was true--</p><p>Ruby's shoulders snapped back, into a wolfish hunch, before snapping back to regular. Crimson fur slowly sprouted along her shoulders, and Ruby hissed, baring a mouth full of razor sharp fangs. Blake gulped. </p><p>"I want the old magics back," Cinder said. "Most of them are lost for good, but I want to see this. I want to see <em>how </em>wolfish young miss Rose goes. How much control she has. How much she can hold back. It's not a matter of power, mind you. I know she is strong. She killed one of my operatives, just the other day. And he wasn't a bad fighter, either, but he simply didn't stand a chance. I want to see how much humanity she retains. And you are going to tell me."</p><p>"How would I possibly know--" Blake stopped. "Oh."</p><p>"Well, if Ruby kills you, that'll give me the majority of what I need to know," Cinder said, amused. "She probably won't be too happy with herself, so I'll just have to be happy for her."</p><p>"Ruby?" Blake asked slowly. </p><p>"I said shut up!" Ruby snapped, spitting. One hand shrank and twisted, turning into a wolf's paw without any fur. The claws scratched and scraped against the ground, and Blake felt a slow, rising panic. </p><p>"Don't worry. From what I've seen, it should be a quick death," Cinder said with a short, quiet laugh. Blake twisted, unable to free herself. </p><p>"I'm sorry," Ruby hissed. "I...really am."</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Listening to Caleb Hyles' cover of "Monster" by the band Skillet :) never has my music been more accurate to what I was writing XD</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Ruby, what are you doing?"</p><p>"Nothing," Ruby muttered. She tightened the strap around her forearm, wincing. </p><p>"What--why haven't you changed yet?" Tai asked, walking into the room. </p><p>"I don't. Want to."</p><p>"Well, I kind of figured," Tai muttered. "You know you can't stop it."</p><p>"Watch me."</p><p>"Ruby..." He sighed, sitting down next to her. "You'll just hurt yourself."</p><p>"Better than Yang. Or you. Or--or--" She sniffed, choking. A pair of wolf ears poked out of her hair--the transformation was slowed, but not stopped. </p><p>"Ruby, she doesn't want you to hurt yourself like this," Tai said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "You hurt her, and you killed those hikers."</p><p>"Not. Helping," Ruby growled, pain splitting down her back. </p><p>"You can't stop this. It's a part of you. You'll never be able to control it if you don't <em>accept </em>it."</p><p>"I don't want. To accept this. I want to stop. Hurting people. I want to help people. Save people." She gasped, shaking, setting her teeth. </p><p>Tai hugged her. "You have to, just like your mother did."</p><p>"Mother wouldn't have had any problems like this," Ruby whispered. </p><p>"Oh, she most certainly did," Tai said, smiling slightly. In a way he hoped was encouraging. "You ever wondered why I got the tattoo?"</p><p>"N-no."</p><p>"She could normally control herself, but every once in a while she failed. She messed up my arm pretty good. Spent a week apologizing about it. A year or two later, I just got the tattoo. Seemed like a good idea. You can barely see the scarring, anymore." He gently grabbed her arm, prying her fingers off the straps she had around her arms. "She didn't try doing something like this, though. She just got more determined than ever to find out how to control herself.</p><p>"Just like I know you can, too."</p><p> </p><p>It wasn't a full moon. Ruby had no idea why she was changing. But she knew she had to slow it. Long enough so that maybe, just maybe Blake could be saved. She snarled, fighting, struggling. </p><p>Blake fell over, accidentally knocking her chair over in her attempts to get out. The chair was metal--Blake had little chance of escaping herself. And even if she did break free, there was no way she could get out. </p><p>Ruby focused on her breath. <em>In, out, in, out.</em> Maybe she could control herself--she was supposed to be able to now, right? But she'd killed Mercury. She'd greatly hurt Yang--the other night, Yang had been scared of her. Shaking at times. </p><p>Could Ruby keep herself from hurting more people? Was this going to be her life, just non-stop violence towards her friends?</p><p>
  <em>I don't want it to be. </em>
</p><p>This wasn't going to help her. If she spent all her energy merely slowing the transformation, she definitely wouldn't be able to keep herself from hurting Blake. She had to let it come. </p><p>"I'm sorry," she whispered. Then she stopped holding back. </p><p> </p><p>Nora burst into Ozpin's office, her team following her. "I came as soon as I heard," she said. "Who--"</p><p>"The kidnapper's identities--and motivations--are suspected, but not known," Ozpin told her. "I have as many people as I can contact on the move. Police have been notified."</p><p>"What do we do?" Jaune asked. "How do we help?"</p><p>"I need to go with the police and help them look around," Ozpin told them. "If you go to look for them on your own, definitely be careful. Perhaps one of you has the nose for finding stuff," he added cryptically, leaving the office. </p><p>"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Yang cried. "Ah, he speaks in riddles! Come on, maybe we can just look around--"</p><p>"Ahem," Nora said. "Just a minute." Glynda pointed to a side door, and Nora nodded, leaving the room. </p><p>"Where are you going?" Yang asked. </p><p>"Getting the nose for the problem," Nora called out. </p><p>"What--" Yang stopped. "Oh."</p><p>"I don't follow," Weiss said slowly. </p><p>"She's--is she a wolf?" Yang asked. Jaune nodded. "We found out just the other day."</p><p>"Full wolf, not a half-breed like Ruby," Ren added. The door slowly pushed open, and a violet wolf stepped out. With a ruff, she shook herself. </p><p>"Let's get going," Glynda said. "Speed is of key. We need to hurry."</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>What they didn't seem to get was that Nora fast was not as fast as it needed to be. None of them quite appreciated exactly how hard sniffing out one person's scent was. The only way it was possible was that Ruby was a werewolf--and thus, very noticeable. </p><p>In a relative sense. </p><p>The sun had set by the time Nora finally felt confident she'd found the location. She let out a bark, hoping they'd pick up on her thoughts. </p><p>"This the place?" Yang asked. Nora barked again, glaring at the odd building. </p><p>"What do we do?" Ren asked. </p><p>"We're going in," Jaune said. "We need to be careful. The last thing we want to do is barge in the doors into a fight we might not win--"</p><p>"OPEN UP, MOTHERFUCKERS!" Yang screamed, blasting the door down and charging in without a second thought. </p><p>"I don't think you realize how Yang works," Weiss told him. "Or that, at this particular moment, I share her feelings." With a cry of rage, she followed Yang into the building. </p><p>"Guys!" Jaune cried, throwing up his hands. "Come on. Let's go after them before they get themselves killed."</p><p>Roughly twenty White Fang soldiers pointed an even mix of swords and guns at the two of them. The center of the room was a large, concrete cube with a sealed door. Cinder Fall, in her usual red dress, sat in a chair beside it. She barely looked away from the monitor in front of her to look at them. "Deal with the intruders," she said casually, waving the Faunus off. "I want to watch this."</p><p>"Listen here--I'm not going to let you harm my--" Yang ducked and rolled to the side as several machine guns opened fire upon her. Weiss quickly created an ice barrier, shielding the two of them and JNPR as the latter came in. </p><p>"Ruby and Blake must be in the concrete cell," Jaune guessed. A bullet broke through the ice, pinging off his shield. "How do we get past all these guys though?"</p><p>"We beat them up," Yang growled. </p><p>Glynda raised her switch, then used her Semblance to throw half the White Fang thugs into the wall to the side. She threw the ice barrier at the other ten, then pointed the switch at Cinder. </p><p>"...why are we here again?" Pyrrha asked, holding up her weapons.</p><p>Cinder sighed, standing up. "I don't want to miss this, but it's not exactly as if you'd be willing to let me watch, hmm?" Her outstretched hand caught a small amount of flame, her clothing flaring up in light. "Time for you to die." With a cry, she jumped aside as the door to the cell flung off, straight for Glynda. </p><p>Glynda barely caught it with her Semblance, grunting, and the door fell over, thudding on the ground. </p><p>"Third time's the charm, Paper Crown," Yang smirked. </p><p>"Now is not the time!" Glynda snapped. Both stopped as a loud growl filled the room. </p><p>Ruby stepped out of the concrete cell, a massive wolf that had to squeeze through the door. </p><p>"Uh oh," Jaune muttered, readying himself. </p><p>"Guys!" Blake cried, stepping out behind Ruby. "Thank the gods!"</p><p>"...Beautiful," Cinder breathed, staring at Ruby. </p><p>Ruby looked across at her, then let out a roar that shook the building. With that, she lunged for Cinder, who backed off, summoning glass weapons and trying to shove Ruby back. </p><p>Blake rushed over to her friends while the White Fang thugs started recovering. "She can control herself?" Yang asked, grabbing Blake's hands. </p><p>"I think," Blake said. "She didn't maul me, which is something I think we were both concerned about."</p><p>Ruby roared again, sliding back away from Cinder, who huffed. </p><p>"You are in so much trouble," Yang growled, stomping towards Cinder. </p><p>Weiss stepped up beside Yang. "You think we'd just let you get away with this?"</p><p>"The second wolf?" Cinder muttered. "Ah. That certainly puts a kink in my plans." She waved her arms, fire circling around her. With a light flash, she disappeared. </p><p>"Where'd she go?" Yang growled. Ruby ruffed, headbutting Yang, her tongue sticking out. Yang immediately brightened. "You can control yourself now! Oh, that's so great!" She hugged Ruby, but then quickly let go, awkwardly coughing. "Yeah, too soon for that. <em>Ahem.</em>"</p><p>"You'll get an explanation when we return," Weiss told Blake. "I--just heard about it. It's...weird."</p><p>Blake sighed. "It can't be worse than that crazy hoe's psychotic ramble about vampires," Blake said, sighing. </p><p>"Come on," Yang said, "let's tell these bastards why they don't mess with us." She lunged forward, throwing the first White Fang thug she reached back into the ground. Ruby bounded past her, using her paws to throw the thugs to the sides. Nora pounced, pinning one to the ground and smacking upside the head with her paws. She whined, seeing Ruby throw the three thugs she was fighting aside. </p><p>"She's the bigger dog," Jaune said, tackling into combat with a thug. The three of them stopped to watch Glynda use her Semblance to lift ten into the air and casually throw them into a wall, then the floor, then back into the wall. </p><p>"Always a bigger dog," Jaune said with a smile. </p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Wrap Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"She...that...oooooooh I loathe that woman," Ruby muttered, wrapping her head in her arms. Yang put an arm around Ruby's shoulders. "Dad was worried about something like this happening," she muttered. </p><p>"So, how bad is the damage?" Weiss asked. </p><p>"Cinder released video footage of a sixteen-year old girl shed her skin and turn into an eight-foot crimson wolf that proceeded to cause real property damage and rough up almost a dozen White Fang soldiers, all of whom can attest to the truth of the video," Ozpin told the eight of them, looking over at RWBY and JNPR. He sipped his cocoa. "There's no way we're keeping this hidden any longer. A lot of people have already pieced together that Ruby disappears multiple times around the full moon, and no one can figure out where she goes."</p><p>"Thankfully, nothing has been said about your previous lack of control," Glynda added. "So no one can attribute any of the three deaths to you. Though I have seen people talking about that 'monster of Forever Fall' newspaper in relation to Ruby."</p><p>"Dammit," Ruby muttered. </p><p>"So much for keeping it on the hush," Blake said. </p><p>"What is she going to do now?" Jaune said. </p><p>"I am going to reveal at least part of the truth. Ruby is a werewolf, she turns into a wolf, and is perfectly in control of her wolf self," Ozpin said. "It's the only choice <em>to </em>be made, all things considered. If I don't reveal it, it'll just be an open secret. Better to reveal it when we can have <em>some </em>measure of control over it."</p><p>"This is going to be a pain to deal with," Ruby muttered. </p><p>"There's going to be a lot of scientists trying to get in contact with Ruby, you know," Weiss said. </p><p>"Dammit! I hadn't even thought about that!" Ruby flopped backwards in her chair, letting out an exasperated sigh. "This is going to be a bigger pain."</p><p>"For now, you ought to head back to your dorms and get some rest. We'll tell you when we make the announcement, and what you need to know," Glynda said. "Just...avoid talking about it with other students, and be careful. Some people may take it upon themselves to try and put you down."</p><p>"I think she'll be fine," Yang said confidently. </p><p>Ruby hesitated. "Professor...?"</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"Cinder...said something. A little odd something. About another wolf she knew about--who 'wasn't quite herself'. So...do you know what happened to Mom? What that mission was about?"</p><p>Ozpin frowned. "No, I'm afraid not. If I did know, Ruby, I wouldn't hesitate to tell you."</p><p>Ruby nodded. "Okay." She got up and left, her team and Jaune's following her into the elevator. </p><p>"Things are going to be tough, eh?" Nora asked. "You're going to have some problems. Cinder doesn't appear to know that I was the violet wolf that night, and I, for one, don't like the idea of her finding out."</p><p>"Hmm." Ruby frowned. "Hey, Nora. I guess size isn't the only thing I've got over you, eh?"</p><p>"What are you talking about?" Nora asked, suspicious. </p><p>Ruby chuckled. "I could tell Ozpin was lying," she said, "about Mom." With a smile, she stepped out of the elevator, striding confidently despite the stares people were giving her. </p><p>"It would really help," Nora said, "if she weren't the cooler 'me'."</p><p>Ren smiled, following after Ruby. "There is such a thing as 'too cool', Nora, so you're just right for me."</p><p>As JNPR walked off, Yang walked slowly, hanging back. </p><p>"Cinder said that the third wolf had 'lost herself'," Blake told Yang. "You think that could be Summer?"</p><p>"I don't know what I think," Yang replied. "I'll just be glad that it's only werewolves I'm having to deal with. Imagine if I were having to deal with vampires and dhampirs!"</p><p>Weiss laughed. "Yes, that would be problematic."</p><p>"Vampires should stay in romance novels, where they belong," Blake agreed. The three laughed at that, coming up to the door to their room. </p><p>"If Summer is still out there, I'm sure we'll find her," Blake said, giving Yang a thumbs up before heading into the room. </p><p>Weiss nodded. "If she lives, I promise you. You will be reunited." Solemnly, she followed after Blake. </p><p>Yang considered this. She stared into the dorm, watching her friends talk and laugh with her sister. It would certainly be nice, having Summer return. But...perhaps she shouldn't chase this. Maybe Summer left for a reason. Maybe she was losing control. Perhaps, Yang considered, she should be thankful for what she had. </p><p>A sister, a love, and a best friend, all of whom were the perfect ones for her. She smiled, watching the three of them. No, if Summer was alive, she'd most likely remain so, and nothing Yang did would ever change that in either direction. So, for now, she would be with the loved ones she knew she had. </p><p>Yang stepped in, and closed the door behind her. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading this! I hope you enjoyed it, I certainly enjoyed writing it. While I don't plan on making a sequel, I do like leaving hooks for future stories in case I do want to write another, and if you look into those last few chapters, perhaps you'll see some of them :-P<br/>Thank you for reading, see ya in the next one!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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